TEMPE — Arizona women’s basketball suffered a heartbreaking 68-61 loss against its in-state rivals on the road in Tempe on Wednesday. While the Wildcats didn’t get the result they wanted, coach Becky Burke said it didn’t take away from the effort put forth on the court in the game and praised her team for their resiliency, especially being down some important bodies.
“I am so proud of our team,” Burke said to open the press conference. “Proud of our effort, proud of our fight. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very disappointed with the outcome. We did a lot of things right and I thought we put ourselves in a position to win.”
She continued, “It doesn’t take anything away from how well we executed the game plan or how hard these guys played. I thought we had them really out of sorts.”
While things came down to the final minute of the game, the Wildcats ultimately ended up picking up their fifth consecutive loss of the season. Not only was this a big game to help determine the trajectory of the remainder of the season, but also because it was the first Territorial Cup game for a number of people on the court, including both head coaches.
“It’s great, it’s phenomenal,” Burke said. “Again. I’m impressed with the crowd and how many fans [Arizona State] had today, how many fans drove up from Tucson. This is what college basketball is about. This is where memories are made.”
“It’s just so infectious when you have this rivalry game and so many people are tuned-in, so many people have a stake in the game that it’s been really fun to hear the hype and the buzz,” ASU coach Molly Miller said.
Miller took time in her post-game press conference to speak about what it was like to coach against Burke, while also praising the program she’s building in Tucson.
“Becky is going to do great things,” Miller said. “She’s doing great things. I really admire what she’s done with her program. They’re one of the hardest playing teams in the Big 12, so she’s got that thing going and she’s going to continue to do that. She’s an amazing coach.”
Breaking down the game
Arizona State got off to a hot start early while the Wildcats struggled with turning the ball over and some sloppy play. They were able to keep things close, putting up a strong defensive effort to close out the quarter, preventing the Sun Devils from scoring and closing out the first quarter trailing 18-13.
The mistakes continued for the Wildcats to start the second quarter, as they were called for two different shot clock violations in the first three minutes. However, Kamryn Kitchen was able to drill a three to tie things up at 18 with 6:46 remaining in the second quarter.
Following a layup by Marley Washenitz, Last-Tear Poa hit a step-back three to give Arizona State the 23-18 lead. The momentum continued to be with the Sun Devils, who were able to work their way out to a 33-26 lead going into the half.
After making some adjustments in the locker room, Arizona came out and went on an 11-0 run to take a 37-33 lead over the Sun Devils. Despite their best efforts, the Wildcats weren’t able to hold on to the lead they’d generated. A travel violation would give the ball back to the Sun Devils, and Heloisa Carrera would get the rebound and the basket to tie things back up at 45 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.
Kitchen opened up the fourth quarter with a huge basket to put the Wildcats back on top 51-50. From there, ASU worked its way out to a 56-53 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. From there, the Sun Devils were able to continue chipping away at the lead little by little, knowing in a game this close every point counts.
With just 2:41 remaining in the game, the Wildcats were able to bring things within one with a layup from Kitchen. However, the Sun Devils were able to push the lead back out to three before eventually working their way to a 68-61 win.
“We’ve got a lot of players in that locker room who wish they could have a play or two back, and this thing could have gone the other way,” Burke said.
She added, “Credit to Arizona State. That’s what you want a rivalry game to feel like. You want it to be punches thrown back and forth. You want it to be a right hook, left hook, and that’s exactly what that was.”
Key Stats
Leading the team in scoring for the Wildcats was Cornfield with 19 points, two rebounds and six assists on the night. Following Cornfield was Kitchen with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists as she played her most meaningful minutes of the season in her first start for the Wildcats.
“I thought [Kitchen] did a good job,” Burke said. “[Kitchen] is really talented offensively and hasn’t played a whole ton of minutes. I mean, that’s the most minutes she’s probably played all season combined, so I’m really excited for her to just build her confidence and get comfortable out there because when she does, she’s capable of what she did tonight and then some.”
Meanwhile for the Sun Devils, Gabby Elliott lead things in scoring 22 points, while Carrera and McKinna Brackens both had double-doubles.
Free throws were the name of the game, and Arizona State was able to knock down 19 of its 21 free throws while Arizona only went 13 for 18. Arizona also struggled with more turnovers in the game than Arizona State, and the Sun Devils were more aggressive on the night with 11 steals.
What’s next
Arizona will now look to regroup in the next few days before taking on Oklahoma State at McKale Center on Sunday at 2:00. The Wildcats have only won one Big 12 game so far, but will look to change that on Sunday as they prepare for the back half of their schedule.
While the Cats are taking things one game at a time, they have the re-match against Arizona State on Feb. 14 circled on their calendars.
“I know we’re really excited for the opportunity to have them in a couple weeks down in Tucson,” Burke said.
“Everything is thrown out the window when you play a Becky Burke team, but especially when it’s Arizona-Arizona State,” Miller said. “It’s just great for the game, and I’m glad we play them twice.”
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